Longer Hospitalizations Cut Readmission Rate
Every extra day in the hospital after admission for acute heart failure corresponded to a significant drop in 30-day readmission rate in a major trial in the U.S. and other countries, according to an April 3 heartwire article.The findings are from a post hoc analysis of ~7,000 patients from the Acute Study of Clinical Effectiveness of Nesiritide in Decompensated Heart Failure (ASCEND-HF).
The trial primarily tested whether addition of nesiritide to standard care in acute decompensated heart failure would have a significant effect on 30-day, all-cause mortality or heart failure hospitalization.
Of 6,948 individuals at 398 sites, Indian patients had the shortest mean length of stay at 4.9 days (3.8% mean 30-day readmission rates), while those in Russia had the longest at 14.6 days (2.5% mean 30-day readmission rate—the lowest rate). The U.S. mean length of stay was 6.1 days with a 17.8% 30-day readmission rate.
The inverse correlation between hospital length of stay and 30-day readmission was significant (p=0.002).